Synopses & Reviews
**As seen on ABC's The Chew!** >See author Allison Fishman Task talk about the book below Cooking Light Lighten Up, America! is a celebration and discovery of regional American cooking, and the permission to eat the foods you love-it's the soul of American cooking made light.
This collection of America's favorite fare offers healthy versions of classics new and old, memory-making recipes from all walks of life and regions, and returns the most beloved American dishes to the table.
Lighten Up, America! follows Allison Fishman Task as she embarks on a cross-country road trip in search of the country's favorite classic dishes. Allison shows the reader how to take these regional recipes and make them lighter and healthier with a few simple substitutions and smart cooking techniques. From caramel-pecan sticky buns to reuben sandwiches to fried green tomatoes, this book teaches how to turn what might have been once-in-awhile favorites into everyday classics.
Highlights Include:
- Classic American Dishes Made Lighter: Readers will rediscover regional American cooking and eat the food they love through more than 150 delicious recipes from coast to coast. All with complete nutrition analysis.
- Regional Culinary Traditions: Join Allison as she tells delightful and tantalizing stories behind some of our most beloved regional dishes. Each story gives insight into regional flavor and color while celebrating iconic fare like Memphis barbecue, New Orleans gumbo, and Iowa pork tenderloin sandwiches.
- Insider's View of Festivals and Food Fairs: Allison also visits food fairs and festivals, so you'll get a behind- the-scenes look at some of the more unusual foods this great country has to offer such as wild boar nachos, bear meatloaf, and dandelion soup.
- Food Born In America: Allison will share inspiring stories about the many American entrepreneurs and home cooks who conceived and popularized recipes and ingredients. Take the Philly cheesesteak, cobb salad, and stove top stuffing-just to name a few-all crafted through the ingenuity of American food lovers.
Review
"This book is too much fun! It's a culinary roadtrip where you eat your way across America and never have to gain a pound."--Sandra Lee, host of Food Network's "Semi-Homemade Cooking"
Review
"Thank you Allison Fishman Task and Cooking Light for serving up all the flavor of America's favorite foods in a better-for-you way. You have really hit the spot!"--Ellie Krieger RD, host of Food Networks Healthy Appetite"
Review
"At
Cooking Light, it has been our mission for more than 25 years to honor the values of traditional foods while coaxing a lot of fat and calories out. With this book, we're thrilled to celebrate the almost infinite number of regional favorites that form the backbone of this country's great culinary heritage. From creamy clam chowder in the northeast to cheesy burritos in New Mexico, from piles of porky barbecue with 'white sauce' in Alabama to Hoosier pie in the midwest: the menu is vast. We see lightening up these dishes as a new sort of cultural preservation: classic flavors served up for a healthier generation. "
--Scott Mowbray, Cooking Light Editor
About the Author
An author, contributing editor and spokesperson for
Cooking Light, Allison Fishman Task also hosts Yahoo's "Blue Ribbon Hunter", and is the author of
You Can Trust a Skinny Cook. A passionate home cook, Allison has worked for Martha Stewart, Food Network, and Atkins as a food stylist, recipe developer, and cookbook editor. Her writing and recipes have appeared in
Saveur, Fine Cooking, Glamour, Real Simple, and
Everyday Food. She was a host of Lifetime's "Cook Yourself Thin" and TLC's "Home Made Simple." Allison is a graduate of Cornell University and The Institute for Culinary Education and she has a Masters degree in Food Studies from New York University. Allison currently resides in Montclair, New Jersey with her family.
Cooking Light is the nation's leading epicurean magazine brand with the largest audience and most epicurean editorial. It is the only epicurean brand positioned where great food meets good health. Cooking Light received two James Beard Foundation 2013 Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards. The brand delivers innovative recipes, nutrition advice, and resources to live a healthful lifestyle via its magazine, website, and portfolio of cookbooks; across all tablets; through the highly-acclaimed Cooking; and on social media platforms, including Facebook (Facebook.com/CookingLight), Twitter (@Cooking_Light), Pinterest (Pinterest.com/CookingLight), Instagram (@cookinglight), and Google+ (google.com/+CookingLight). Cooking Light is part of the Time Inc. Lifestyle Group, a division of Time Inc., the largest magazine media company in the U.S.